Jim Webb: one and done

posted at 12:15 pm on February 9, 2011 by Ed Morrissey

Freshman Senator Jim Webb will not make an effort to run for a second term, Ben Smith reports at Politico. Later today, Webb will announce his retirement, leaving Democrats with an empty seat to defend in what looks to be another tough electoral cycle:

Webb appeared likely to face a rematch with former Senator George Allen, whom he beat in a bruising 2006 contest. He had expressed ambivalence about the prospect of another run, and has said he never planned a life in politics.

Webb’s fund-raising has been slow for some time. The Washington Post reported in December that as of Sept. 30, 23 of the 33 senators up for reelection next year had more cash in the bank than Webb did. That was before the fourth quarter — Webb’s slowest one yet.

Webb had $445,000 in the bank at the end of 2010. In a new roundup of the latest numbers, The Fix finds that of 17 “potentially vulnerable” senators in 2012 whose fundraising totals were available, only two had less cash on hand than Webb.

Webb had no particular explanation in December for why his fund-raising was sparse. “I just haven’t done any of it,” he said, while expressing confidence that he could ramp up and raise the money he would need for 2012 — likely in excess of $10 million — if he does decide to run.

Virginia has begun electing more Republicans of late, including current governor Bob McDonnell in 2009, less than a year after Barack Obama took office. George Allen will challenge for the seat, who lost it in 2006 mainly for mishandling the “macaca” controversy, and he will face at least one challenger from the Tea Party, organizer Jamie Radtke. Webb would have provided Democrats with a defensible moderate in a state fluctuating between different shades of purple, and now they have to look elsewhere to salvage the seat.

Tim Kaine gets the most attention, and as former governor for a single term, he has both name recognition and a track record of state-wide success. However, his performance in office was not exactly popular, one reason why a Republican replaced him. Kaine has also spent a couple of years as chair of the DNC and has provided a number of sound bites that his eventual Republican opponent will be certain to exploit. Without Kaine and Webb, Democrats will have to rely on lesser-known bench players — or perhaps Terry McAuliffe, the former DNC chair that lost the gubernatorial primary to Creigh Deeds in 2009.

Either way, the retirement of Webb makes the Virginia seat a little easier to win for Republicans.

Blowback

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I remember Jim Webb as SECNAV, back in the day. He is a patriotic American who has served our nation well in many capacities. I do not believe that his performance as a Democrat Senator from VA has been one of them. I am disappointed in his choices, but commend his track record of service.

I can’t help but to wonder what this man knows. If you’re a Democrat politician and you have a conscience and any form of integrity, you must run from what you have been a part of. I hope he decides to talk in an attempt to cleanse his soul.

I remember Jim Webb as SECNAV, back in the day. He is a patriotic American who has served our nation well in many capacities. I do not believe that his performance as a Democrat Senator from VA has been one of them. I am disappointed in his choices, but commend his track record of service.

Good riddance! Now if Virginia could also get rid of the resident moron Moran and Mark Warner needs to go, too, then they can avoid becoming another disaster state like their neighbor Maryland. And it’s laughable to see the posters who hope old melon head Webb gets to be Gates’ replacement. This freak show, hot head as Secretary of Defense! Now that’s a joke!!

Webb’s a perfect example of the adages of both choosing your friends wisely and when you lie down with dogs, you get fleas.

His blind anger at George W. Bush and the administration’s War on Terror policies made Webb align himself with people like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi in 2006 whom he had virtually nothing else in common with, and he compounded his own problems by sticking with the Democrats not only during the 2008 election, but through the Senate votes on the Dems’ liberal social programs the past two years.

He sold his overall ideological soul just to get back at Bush 43, and with Obama basically continuing Bush’s policies in Iraq and expanding on them in Afghanistan, Webb now as nothing to run for re-election on but the agenda implemented by Barack, Harry and Nancy. A painful lesson to learn, but Webb can still redeem himself somewhat by speaking out about his mistakes in supporting their policies between now and the 2012 election.

“Who is she? Good Lord I hope the Tea Party doesn’t screw this one up”

“In 1995, Jamie graduated from Liberty University with a B.S. in Government. Her first exposure to politics came that same year when she worked for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Senator Jesse Helms. During her tenure there, this committee sought to abolish or consolidate three separate federal agencies to eliminate some of the bureaucracy and redundancy of the federal government.

Jamie received her Master of Public Policy from The College of William and Mary in 1998. After graduate school she spent two years at American Management Systems consulting to the Virginia Department of Taxation to help make their daily operations more efficient and cost effective.”

Jamie Radtke is part of the Richmond Tea Party. Here in VA they are considerably influential and active. I’d liken them to the St Louis Tea Party or Atlanta. They are going places. Radtke is a homeschool mom and small business owner.

I’m hearing chatter about more Democrats about to officially change party’s. Is this the sinking ship dynamic, or is this about not being able to live with what they are a part of. Or, could this be an attempt to fool voters knowing full well that they will not be re-elected as a Democrat. Regardless, it sure sounds like the GOP is going to pick up more seats especially on the State level.

The Macker is Back! After losing the 2009 Democratic governor primary to someone named Creigh Deeds.

The bad thing is if The Macker is the nominee, Bill Clinton will be a constant nuisance in Virginia for a whole year. But it’d be worth it when Allen wins as yet another repudiation of the Clinton Presdency

Is this the sinking ship dynamic, or is this about not being able to live with what they are a part of

.

It’s a little of column A and a little of column B, depending on the state.

In Louisiana, it’s been part of a 30-40 year brand makeover for the Republican party, as many Blue Dogs identified with them on a political basis but stayed in their home party for whatever reason.

The national Dems are now destroying the chances for the state and local parties by insisting upon far-left platforms and insisting on support down to the lowest levels. That’s why Rep. Rodney Alexander flipped to the GOP in 2004 and, IMHO, the treatment of influential Blue Dog Charlie Melancon (D-LA) by the national party likely convinced many LA Dems that it was time to go.

AMF and good riddance. Webb is an odd duck. A man of physical courage as evidenced by his service in Vietnam. A man of principle when he resigned as SecNav over the decision to not develop a 600 ship navy. But he turned into a whining CodePink dad, opportunistically running for the Senate because he was mad a Bush’s Iraq policies, and his son was in danger there. Shamelessly allowing/ecnouraging George Allen to be characterized as a bigot, while Webb himself gratuitously used the ‘N’ word in his books and self admittedly drove through the the Watts section of LA brandishing a firearm at peaceful Black citizens while screaming the ‘N’ word at them as well. Then he turned into Obama and Reid’s lackey, spinelessly rubberstamping everything they wanted.

He will not be missed. Tim Kaine isn’t popular here either. Terry McAuliff is a Clintonista, which equals Obama, Webb, Kaine. VA isn’t as purple as many people think.

But Radtke’s dangerous. People need to understand this. The usual suspects are already singing her praises and they know nothing but her name.
KingGold on February 9, 2011 at 1:03 PM

Correction, they just see the phrase “Tea Party” attached to her name and think that’s good enough. It isn’t.

I don’t know how many people at HA live in the NoVa area, or are familiar with it. It is VERY liberal, and it’s sizable enough that it sways elections (hence VA’s shift to “purple”). I firmly believe a Republican can win Webb’s seat. I am not convinced a Tea Party conservative can, unless they are damn impressive, like a Marco Rubio. NoVa will not turn out and vote in a Christine O’Donnell type just because, or I should say especially because, they’re Tea Party approved.

Webb appeared likely to face a rematch with former Senator George Allen, whom he beat in a bruising 2006 contest.

Typical Politico article. The only bruising in that contest was from the WaPo’s daily attacks on Sen Allen. Once out of the primary race, Webb was never really forced to answer a question or give any detailed policy statements. He didn’t even need to really campaign, as the Washington and national media did it for him, for free.

Bravo to his military service. He did more for our country than I did in my 22 years. But that service is long behind him. Jim Murtha was a Marine and look how that turned out.

I look forward to the race and will back whoever is victorious in the Republican primary.

But Radtke’s dangerous. People need to understand this. The usual suspects are already singing her praises and they know nothing but her name.

KingGold on February 9, 2011 at 1:03 PM

Please explain how she is “dangerous”, what kind of weapons is she carrying around? Virginia has a primary and both she and Allen must run the primary gauntlet. It seems you and a few others have already prejudged her based on her Tea Party affiliation and want to run her down just the way you ran O’Donnell down every chance you got. It appears that we are going to get a repeat of the O’Donnell treatment – “judged to be guilty- no need to appeal”.

I remember Jim Webb as SECNAV, back in the day. He is a patriotic American who has served our nation well in many capacities. I do not believe that his performance as a Democrat Senator from VA has been one of them. I am disappointed in his choices, but commend his track record of service.

ted c on February 9, 2011 at 12:18 PM

Perhaps you should read … Fall from Glory: The Men Who Sank the U.S. Navy by Gregory L. Vistica

He was one of the guy’s who sank it.

Webb resigned SECNAV in 1988 after refusing to reduce the size of the Navy – he had pushed for a 600 ship navy and I don’t think we got quite there – or maybe we had the keel laid on #600 … but, whatever … Reagan wrote in his diaries … “I don’t think Navy was sorry to see him go.”

::blink:: Where in heck did you come up with that statement? Look at Webb’s voting record the last few years. Tell me exactly where he bravely opposed the Reid/Pelosi/Obama agenda?

::crickets chirping::

That’s what I thought.

I grew up in the south as a conservative Democrat many years ago. That breed, while not extinct, is certainly endangered. Webb was a fine person, but a lousy, lousy, Senator, with a liberal voting record. A true moderate would have somewhere in the 35%-50% range for both conservative and liberal votes. Webb’s, as someone pointed out, put him at a meager 9% for the conservative side. I guess that makes you a moderate if you’re sitting to the left of Mao.

I’d like to say a kind word about Jim Webb. He is a thoughtful and intelligent guy.

But he took a political position against George W. Bush on Iraq, and at one point, he even got a little personal about it with regard to his son Jimmy, who served there.

This was all understandable from the perspective of a parent who naturally did not want his child sent into harms way on a fools errand. No one in their right mind does!

But when his son returned, I think the young man told Dad that it was not a fools errand; that it was instead a worthy endeavor.

Thereupon, Senator Jim Webb ate a little crow, and he even asked the President for an opportunity to stop by the White House with his son for a meet-and-greet with the Commander in Chief, including participating in a photo op — which could NOT have been in Jim Webb’s political interest.

Member of Congress or Congressional Employee (or any combination of the two)
Must have at least 5 years of service as Member and/or Congressional Employee
1.7% of your high-3 average salary multiplied by your years of service as a Member of Congress or Congressional Employee which do not exceed 20,
plus
1% of your high-3 average salary multiplied by your years of other service

Webb’s quitting? Good. He can go back to writing crappy books that gather dust on Barnes & Borders bookshelves.

I stopped buying anything from Barnes & Borders when I tried to buy Oleg Atbashian’s non-fiction book, Shakedown Socialism and the simpering shaved-head Libtard pursed his lips and said, “We certainly don’t carry that book here and we can’t (won’t) order it in either.”

. . . .
I stopped buying anything from Barnes & Borders when I tried to buy Oleg Atbashian’s non-fiction book, Shakedown Socialism and the simpering shaved-head Libtard pursed his lips and said, “We certainly don’t carry that book here and we can’t (won’t) order it in either.”

CatchAll on February 9, 2011 at 10:43 PM

To put it bluntly, that is a load.

In the first place, you obviously wouldn’t know a bookstore from an entrenching tool, as Barnes and Noble and Borders are two different establishments.

Which one did you go in again? A little confused, are you?

In the second place, I just checked on BOTH of their websites, and you indeed can order Oleg Atbashian’s “Shakedown Socialism” (used) from either one of them.

2) It was a Barnes & Noble store in Louisiana that I physically went into, not on the internets. The customer service guy told me flat out that they didn’t carry it and they couldn’t order it in for me.

3) I was able to find & purchase Shakedown Socialism at Amazon.com

4) When I go to any of the Barnes & Borders looking for books on conservative politics, I often find that they don’t have the book in stock or their conservative books are buried away in some inaccessible spot whilst the latest left-wing screeds are on prominent display. Libtards tend to flock to coffee shops & bookstores so it doesn’t take a leap of imagination to realize most if not all of the people seeking employment there are Libtards.

It seems to me that, having now conceded that it was one and not the other, any fair minded person in your place would not have deliberately set out to smear both, as you indeed did earlier on this thread.

Only after being confronted, did you “admit” that it was a Barnes & Noble store in Louisiana, and that Borders had absolutely nothing to do with the incident.

Well, if it actually did happen as you now say, common sense also suggests that your complaint was with one out-of-line employee, a complaint that you should have pursued, but not by attempting to smear two bookstore chains here.

At this point, CatchAll, you might want to consider quitting while you’re behind!

Admissions against interest do tend to pile up. Perhaps you might also want to consider going into a bookstore of your choosing, and ask if they have a section featuring books on logic.